SEATTLE -- A massive tank collapsed, spilling toxic liquid in the city's Sodo District. It happened weeks ago, and the five government agencies that knew about never notified the public.

The state Department of Ecology calls it one of the biggest waste spills in the last decade in the city.

Robert Stebanski, who works nearby, wants to know why no one told him about it.

"No one could tell me and I was curious because I was walking around in it and stuff," he said.

Crew still have toxic liquid and sludge to clean up, but the 50,000 gallon wooden tank at International Plating collapsed nearly two months ago.

The company has yet to get to the cause of the problem.

"We're not exactly sure," said company president Marc Wislen.

Wislen said his first concern was containing the rinse water, but officials at a nearby sewage treatment plant say enough leaked into sewage pipes that they saw a spike in the level of metals in the water.

Tests showed that the water contained cadmium - a toxic metal, as well as copper, which is toxic to salmon.

"We've been instructed that we should have notified the proper authorities first and worry about the rinse water secondary," said Wislen.

When asked why that wasn't done, Wislen said the company simply wasn't aware of the protocol.

"Just because from our understanding - and we mentioned this to the Department of Ecology, the EPA, King County Industrial Waste and the Public Utilities District - the people we already notified our concerns to were (alerted first) to minimize the spill," he said.

According to a report by the Seattle P-I, the company was once cited in the past for discharging waste containing high levels of dangerous levels.